At some point after Steph left for class there was a knock on the door that woke me up. My buddy Tim had traded a non running Mazda pickup for a 99 VW Beetle. The Beetle broke down and he coasted it into my yard. He took the Escort that I have listed for sale for him home and left the bug here.

Then....

Heath and I spent the day goofing off and playing until he went down for a nap at 2pm.

I went out and got started working on the BlueOx.

Tim called and asked if I had a tow strap. He was coming to get his bug. He drove the Escort up and we chatted while we waited for his son. Once they were gone I crawled under the OX.

I had to cut the exhaust flange studs because the nuts would not come off them. They unscrewed from the manifold though. The air die grinder did a bang up job with that.

Tim brought my strap back.

Steph got home from class. I took Christine down to get a new exhaust doughnut and studs - $24 later and I was back home. Heath was up when I got back.

After the exhaust was fixed we drug the tow bar out of hiding.

After about 4000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 phone calls, messages, posts, and texts I found a place to park two of the CUCVs for a few days.

Tomorrow morning we head out. I am dropping Steph and Heath at her grandparents in Atlanta then heading of to MS.

We stopped to pick up 3 spare tires for the CUCV, then made a stop for gas, and a stop at Waffle House.

Heath ate ¾ of a waffle, 2 pieces of bacon, part of Steph's ham, part of my steak, and half my biscuit. I am scared for him to become a teenager.

While we were sitting there a guy (who appeared to be a slight bit light in the loafers) walked over and said to me, “You have a magnificent beard,”and walked away. I was glad Steph was there.

Someone in GA heard I was coming and called for reinforcements

Then we drove down to the Atlanta area where I dropped Steph and Heath off at her grandparents house.

I swung into a local cigar shop and it was packed with guys watching a football game. As I walked into the humidor I heard someone say, “He is a monster,” and just figured they were talking about the game.

Then the started coming in the humidor (which was huge by the way) one by one and shaking my hand. It was me they were talking about. By the time I left everyone was calling me mountain man.

So I headed on west.

I stopped somewhere in Alabama for gas and a thermos refill.

At around 945 I pulled in to Mississippi. And on some of the worst roads I have ever seen - and I have driven through New Jersey. The interstate looked like it had been a bombing target.

I reached back and grabbed my Dr. Pepper and opened it. It exploded. I don't mean fizzed up. It exploded. I was soaked from my chin to my knees.

I had not planned to get a hotel room, but now that was done for. The flies would have eaten me alive soaked in sugar. So I saw an econo lodge that advertised jacuzzi tubs so I called them. $58 for a regular - $68 for a Jacuzzi. My back was aching so the $10 was a small price.

The first room was a disaster. I was so tired afterall day on the road Ididn't pay attention when Igot there. I filled thetub and then sat and ate my dinner. When I got it in the tub it was so slick I caused a tidal wave in the room. Since I was already in it I hit the button for the jets. Chunks of filth came out.

I dried off and got dressed and carried my stuff backto the truck and drove up to the office. They gave me another room. It was better, but still not worth the money. None of the outlets worked. The carpet was slimy. At least the bed appeared to be clean and the tub was chunk free.

Uinfortunately my tablet refused to work and I could not get online.

At 6am I was off again.

The GPS did not like MS any more than I did. It took me to a prison first, then to a prison laundry, then I shut it off. I was afraid of where it would take me next. Finally someone told me where the forestry Dept was.

I got there at noon. The first truck was hooked up about an hour later.

I called my buddy who lives there and he sent me an address to come pick him up. I drove about 15 miles on the interstate and went up on a over pass that was about 75 feet high – and the GPS said my destination was on the right. I didn't see an elevator so I went on.

After 4 phone calls and wrong directions from him I finally got there. My GPS would not find his address, but it did find the adult store next door to his work.

He took me to the other shop he works at and we dropped the first truck. The roads were so bad the tailgate on the CUCV had fallen open.

We headed back to the forestry Dept and got the next one then he got us lost going back to the shop to drop it.

At 435 we got back to the Forestry Dept and got to hooking up. They closed at 5.

At 500 I had it all hooked up and we started to leave – the truck had no key. The woman at the desk told me that everyone else had gone home and she had no keys. So I grabbed my tool kit and pulled the cylinder of it. It was 515 when we finished and the sweet little secretary was standing there talking with us.

As we pulled out of the lot I got a text from the guy who is buying them who told me all CUCV's are keyed the same. Oh well.

I had to turn around in a cul-de-sac that was not as big as I would have been comfortable with and about halfway around there was a huge hole. The Ox went down then the CUCV and then I heard a weird noise. When I got out the bumper on the CUCV looked good so I figured it was just the tow bar complaining.

Then Hunter (my friend) and I headed to his house. We watched The Big Lebowski then went to an all you can eat Chinese Buffet. I had not eaten all day. They were glad to see me leave – the one gal who worked there who had a baby kept holding it where I could not see it. She may have been afraid I would eat it.

At 530 the next morning I went out, jump started Hunters truck so he could go to work, and walked back to check the tow bar – I found that the Ox's bumper was bent. The CUCV was stronger than the OX.

After too many miles at 45 mph (as fast as I could go without being beat to death) on MS roads I heard a thunk and looked back to see something black fly out from under the CUCV. I got out and looked and everything looked fine.

About 175 miles later I was blissfully out of MS. I bumped the speed up to 55. Any faster and the Cucv started a weird mating dance with the OX.

At 1 I was in Birmingham, AL where I stopped for gas and a thermos refill, and met up with Robert Webb. He is a great guy and he bought me lunch and gave me cookies!

At 530 I was in Atlanta. Unfortunately so was our president. Traffic was a bear. I even saw a drone flying over the interstate. I did not see Air Farce One. The radio said it was taking off.

Finally at around 6 I got to Steph's grandparents house. They insisted we eat dinner. An hour and a half later and we were fill up, loaded up, and going up the street. Traffic was till a mess.

At an on ramp a girl just charged for the side of the truck. I slammed my fist down on the horn - nothing happened.

At sometime close to 11pm we pulled into a QuickTrip station in Anderson, SC. $112 later and we had gas, coffee, drinks and chips. Heath got to pick his own. He thought it was great.

I took a look at the horn. It was gone. Remember that thing that i saw come out of the truck. It was remarkably horn shaped. MS shook my truck apart.

At 1215 or so we were at my guys house. The truck was unhooked and we headed up back roads to the house.

At 100 we finally landed. Heath went to bed. The dogs were going nuts, the rabbits were about to jump thru the top of their cages, and I was super filthy and tired.

After a shower to wash MS off of me I fell in the bed – and couldn't get to sleep. At about 400 I drifted off.

After a shower to wash MS off of me I fell in the bed – and couldn't get to sleep. At about 400 I drifted off.

It's funny how it seems after a long ordeal like that, no matter how tired you are, you can't fall asleep.

Memorial Day weekend, I worked a 26 hour shift at the mine. It was a long freaking day. Nothing like getting in over 1/2 of 40 hours in one day! I went back to my apartment and could not sleep, I was up for another 3 or 4 hours.

I went to sleep at around 4am and woke up at some time around noon. I felt like crap, but not much I could do about it.

After Heath went down for a nap at 2 Steph and I went out and go the tractors fired up and started mowing. I was on Grady's tractor. After about a hour the exhaust was killing me so I stopped.

We had to move Nameless out of the way so we hooked it up to a tree with a snatch block and the AMSTEEL synthetic cable and the BlueOx and pulled it back out of the yard.

I had Steph go back over and try to restart Grady's mower. It was vapor locked. All I can figure is that it has an a exhaust leak that is heating up the carb.

Then the guy I am delivering the CUCVs for contacted me and we spent about a hour renegotiating the price of the deliveries. He balked at first, but since it is costing me more to get them something had to change. One the arm wrestling was done and he was satisfied I wasn't cheating him all was well.

This morning at 5am I was still awake listening to it rain. At around 1130 I dragged myself out of bed.

At this rate I will get my sleeping schedule wrapped back around in about 3 months.

After Heath went down for his nap, Steph and I went outside and got all the aluminum loaded up in Christine to go off to the smelter tomorrow morning.

Then we got the tow bar and the big piece of semi tire recap that we got off the interstate and put some bumper strips on the front of the bar. I had to put the rubber floor mats from the OX between the bar and bumper on the CUCVs.

After that was done we took the Ox across the road and got my trailer back from Grahams yard. I am sure he will be glad to have it out of his way.

While I was doing all this something bit me on my lower back right where my pants rub on it. It is driving me nuts.

Dinner was some mixture of stuff that Steph put together out of this and that. It had shrimp, noodles, and tomatoes. It was pretty good.

Then I staggered out to Christine and we headed off. Steph and I had loaded up all the aluminum in the bed the day before. I was off to the smelter. There wasn't a lot of aluminum, but it was all big pieces and it was in the way. I came home with $150.

Then we headed off to a friends shop where he was having a cancer benefit. I won the drawing. He The prizes were, a oil change, tire rotation, detail job, and a few other things. I tokd him to just fix my diesel Suburban and gall it even. He liked that idea. After a bunch of BBQ sandwiches, cupcakes, and snowcones we headed home.

When Heath went down for a nap so did Steph.

The guy I am hauling the CUCVs for came by to bring me some more cash. We talked for a bit then he left.

At 730 we loaded up in the BlueOX with the tow dolly hooked on and headed up to Charlotte. I had to get a car from a gal who got off work at 830. We set a 900 appointment. I was there at 845.

When she and her finace showed up the first thing he said was,” I forgot to bring my pistol, but I feel better that you have yours.” He said it let him know that I was legitimate. I always carry mine in NC.

When we were loaded up we talked a bit. They were a sweet couple. One stop at the grocery store and we were home.

This morning I woke up feeling like a piano had fallen on me.

I creaked and groaned around the house till Heath went down for his nap. Then Steph left to go grab a couple of things and I staggered out into the very beatuiful afternoon.

I spent a little time raking up and cleaning the work area then I pulled the little Kia Spectra we got over to start slicing it up.

It had been hit on the front end so I had to use a come-a-long to pull it out to get the radiator and cat out of it. Then it gave up about 8 gallons of good gas.

When Steph got back we stuffed the car full of misc scrap.

A shower sure felt good after that.

Tomorrow I have to go up to Charlotte and get a small storage buildign that a guy needs gone so he can close on the house he is selling. An old customer of mine gave he my name. Always feels good to know that you did a good enough job for someone that they recommend you.

Yesterday I got a call from a yankee friend of mine that a realtor he knows had a house for sale that had a shed that needed to be gone. NO charge just needed it out of the yard. I told him to have the realtor call me. The realtor was, I am guessing, South African. She had that beautiful accent. I told her I would get it today after lunch.

SO this morning after 4 hours of sleep...

After one cup of coffee we were out the door and at the scrap yard by 845. The Kia got dumped off the back of the BlueOx while Steph took Christine to the warehouse to get the non ferrus stuff weighed. With some cash in our hands we headed home.

The big trailer had two flat tires so we had to get them aired up. One was of the rim, but was still wasy enough. Then all the stuff we needed to load the building up on the trailer got put in the small trailer behind Christine and we headed off.

I sent a text to let them know we were coming as soon as we pulled out of the yard. I didn't get an asnwer. I called when we were 15 minutes away and was told that the sister of the person who was selling the house had put the building online for sale. If it was still there it was mine. I didn't like my odds.

Sure enough when we got there a Russian guy told me he had just bought it. He thought I was the company he had called to move the building. So we drove down to the end of the culdesac to turn around. When we came back by the house the Uncle of the person selling the house stopped me and asked if I would move the building.

After a brief conversation we settled on a price. The Russian guy asked me to call the towing company and tell them not to come because he couldn't understand the guy. I called. The guy was Jamacian. So after a Russina, Jamacian, red neck three way call we finally got it all worked out. The towing company thought they were coming to get a car.

It took up about 45 minutes to get the building loaded up and then we followed the worlds worst driver across Charlotte we arrived at the guys house. All those bad Russian driving videos you have seen on youtube? I got to wittness it all first hand. It was horribe. The guy was stopping in the middle of the interstate and he made every turn at the last possible second.

It took about an hour and a half to get the building unloaded and leveled.

I got eaten alive by fireants. I think Heath got bit too, but they ignored Steph.

After he paid up we stopped at Wendy's and had our first meal of the day at 700. Heath was hungry.

Finally home at 9pm. Steph stopped at the store, Heath is torturing the cat. It was a good day even if it was a lot of work.